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Baghdad Extends Air Blockade over Kurdistan-Held Areas

Iraq extended by three months a ban on international flights to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)-held areas. Telvan Sıveyli, the press officer for Irbil International Airport, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that they have been informed by Iraq Civil Aviation Authority that the flight ban on international flights in Irbil and Sulaymaniyah airports has been extended by three months, to the end of May.

Baghdad imposed the air blockade in September - and again until Feb. 28 - after KRG voted overwhelmingly for independence in a non-binding referendum rejected as illegal by the central government and many other countries including Turkey and Iran. The federal government in Baghdad first imposed the air blockade in September, and later it was extended in December for two months and was to run until Feb. 28, and the authorities have decided to renew it for three more months. A spokesman for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office confirmed the ban was extended.